


Always Together

by PuyoLover39



Category: Servamp (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Child Kuro, Fluff, Happy Birthday XShiirotas, Johannes experiments on Kuro, Kuro LOVES Mahiru, M/M, Mahiru is very confused
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-06-16
Packaged: 2019-05-23 23:19:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14943231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PuyoLover39/pseuds/PuyoLover39
Summary: After having a meeting with Mikuni, Kuro begins to feel strange, shortly after he undergoes a transformation. Mahiru is left to clean up the mess and try to change him back. The Eve of Sloth finds the whole thing to be confusing and annoying, but will something good come out of this whole affair?





	Always Together

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xskinnyluv](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xskinnyluv/gifts).



> This was written for a very dear friend of mine, Mari, sweetheart, I hope you have a fantastic birthday and enjoy your gift. ♡ To the rest of you, I hope you enjoy it as well. She asked for lots of fluff and cute stuff, so I tried my best. But it may have a few errors in grammar, my beautiful beta dI'd her best to weed through it and point them out to me. But we are only human and bound to make mistakes. Also, sorry if the spacing is weird, half of this was written in word, and the other half was written in Google docs.

It was around 4pm when Mahiru and Mikuni were finishing up their chat about C3 that the blond had called him over for. Jeje curled around his partners shoulders while Kuro chose to sit slouched over the table next to Mahiru playing a game on his handheld console and sipping the tea that had been served to all of them by Johannes.

 

Standing and bowing his respect to the blond, Mahiru turned and began walking toward the shops door with Kuro in tow. “Right, thank you for the information Mikuni.”

 

“Not a problem, come see us again sometime. I’m sure Johannes would love to play with Sloth some, since Jeje here won’t let him try anything on him.” Drawled the antique dealer, while he raised a hand to wave the sloth pair off.

 

Once outside Kuro transformed into his cat form and hopped on his Eve’s shoulder, leaning against the youth’s cheek and laying down. Said Eve simply raised a brow at the odd action but brushed it off as he headed home.

 

They continued to walk in a comfortable silence all the way back to their apartment. Unlocking the door and stepping inside before shutting the door and re-locking it. “Kuro, we’re home. You can get down now.” A minute passed with them just remaining as they were before the boy repeated the name that he unknowingly game the vampire. This time he got a groan from the mass of black fur on his shoulder before the weight of that mass was removed and relocated in front of his as an 18 year old boy.

 

“When did we get home?” Was the first thing to come from the bluenette’s mouth as he raised one hand to his head and lowered the other to remove his calf length riding boots, before stepping further into the apartment. Mahiru then reached down to remove his own shoes before addressing the older male’s question.

 

“About a minute or two ago. I told you as soon as we got inside but you didn’t answer me. What did you fall asleep or something?” It wouldn’t be out of the norm for that to have been the case. That lazy cat could fall asleep anywhere at any time. He was made to represent the sin of sloth after all.

 

“Ah, yeah, I guess I did.” a scoff. Typical Kuro.

 

“Well, whatever, not like you haven’t done that before. I’m going to get started on dinner now so why don’t you go play a game or go watch TV or someth-” The brunette got cut off mid rant when he heard a crash from the living room followed shortly by another soft groan. Rushing to chase the sound and see what had happened, the highschooler entered the living room to find his Servamp rubbing his head and laying on the floor.

 

“Um, Kuro? Are you okay?” Questioned the younger male, genuinely concerned about the others condition. Falling asleep halfway to the couch would be a new low for the NEET.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just hit my head on the coffee table when I fell. I must have tripped over something.” Came the lazy and uncaring response from the equally lazy man.

 

“Yeah, well, if you tripped over something it was probably all those empty noodle cups that I keep telling you not to leave laying all over the place, but do you listen to me? No. Of course you don’t. Even though things would be so much simpler if you did!” The boy’s concern quickly shifting into annoyance, as he lectured the older man for the upteenth time.

 

“Right, right. Got it, message received mom.” And for the upteenth time his words were dismissed with an uncaring response and a shoo-ing hand motion as the red eyed being lifted himself off the floor and threw himself onto the couch. He then proceeded to drape an arm over his face, shielding his eyes from the light in the room. “Weren’t you going to start on dinner?”

 

Of course, that was just so Kuro as well. Dismiss him as if he were nothing but his butler, meant to cook and clean for him. Rather than the truth that Mahiru was the master while Kuro was the servant. Crossing his arms and leveling a glare in the vampire’s direction, he shot off his comeback. “Hmph. I was but then I had to come check on you because I heard a loud bang coming from this room and I thought you might have broken something.”

 

“Ah, and for a second I thought you were worried about me.”

 

“Ha, as if.” Turning and stalking back to the kitchen, Mahiru began working on their meal.

 

Meanwhile, Kuro was laying on the couch trying to sort through all that had transpired that day. What was going on? He had been perfectly fine this morning. And now he was having to put on an act on top of being severely confused and not feeling well. He lied to Mahiru because he didn’t know what was going on and he didn’t want to worry him. Servamps don’t get sick, and had never been in pain before unless he sustained a physical injury. Here he was going in and out of consciousness with a pounding headache, laying incapacitated on their couch.

 

Little did he know that despite his efforts to seem like his normal self and keep Mahiru in the dark, his Eve was actually in the kitchen pondering over his Servamp’s state. Even though he said he wasn’t concerned he really was. Sure his lazy partner was known to fall asleep even at the strangest of times, but never before had he done so halfway to the couch, he just seemed really out of it, and that was worrying the boy greatly.

 

After setting the stew to boil on the stove and the rice in the cooker, he decided to go check on his partner again and possibly confront him on what was going on. As he stepped into the room his foot froze in midair as he heard a quiet whimpering mewl. Now he was really worried, no matter what kind of injury he sustained, Kuro never made a sound like that. “Mahiruuuu…”

 

 

Caramel eyes widening in horror, the boys brain raced a mile a minute. Something was definitely wrong, not only because of the fact that his vampire cat had just whined out his name, but because his voice didn’t sound like his normal one. It sounded softer, and much less deep. “Uh, Kuro? Are you sure you’re okay? Remember we promised not to keep any secrets from each other.”

 

Padding over to the couch to face the older male, the teen was surprised to find that instead of being face to face with the older boy, he was looking into the face of… a child? Huh?

 

“K-Kuro?!”

 

“Oww, Mahiru my head hurts. Why do you hafta be so loooud?” Okay, lazy immortal vampire Kuro, he knew how to handle. But whiny child Kuro? This was not something he knew how to work with. In the words of his partner, he couldn’t deal.

 

“Um, eh. K-Kuro, uh, what...happened to you?” He said pointing and gesturing all over the boys body, in hopes that it would serve as some kind of explanation of what he was asking.

 

However all he got for an answer was a cute head tilt, two big red eyes blinking up at him just as confused as he was, and a question in return. “What do ya mean Mahi? Nothing happened to me. Well, other than the fact that my head hurts and I’m hungry. Hey, Mahiru, pick me up!”

 

Okay, okay, okay, yeah. He really couldn’t handle this. Maybe he should call Misono? Or should he go back to Mikuni’s? If this was anything like the time Kuro went into that small black ball, then he may need to invade his Servamp’s mind again to drag him back out.

 

“U-uh, you want me to pick you up?”

 

“Mm-hm! I want Mahiru to hold me. So up, Mahi, up, up, UP!” The boy began chanting as he stretched his arms out, clasping and unclasping his hands in show of excitement, demanding that he get what he wanted.

 

“Uh, right, sure. I guess.” Reaching out he wrapped his arms gently around the boy, who couldn’t be any older than 8 years, and lifted him up to rest against his hip. Now, Mahiru was no stranger to children. There were families in the apartments around his that he had babysat for whenever the parents couldn’t find anyone else to watch them. So it wasn’t like he didn’t know how to care for a child, or even a vampire child since he had plenty of experience with those due to helping out Misono so often. No, he just didn’t know how to care for a younger version of Kuro.

 

“I love you Mahi!~ Your really cuddly, and nice, and pretty.” Purred the kid as he nuzzled his face into his Eve’s chest and shoulders.

 

Yup, see, this is what he meant. How was he supposed to respond to that? Did Kuro even mean that? Did he even know what he was saying? He didn’t seem to remember anything. It was like he thought he had always been a child.

 

Kuro must not have been happy that he wasn’t getting any attention as he paused his nuzzling to look up and fix his Eve with a pout. “Mahi? Whatcha thinkin about? Must be important if you’re ignorin me.” That basically translated into ‘Mahiru why aren’t you paying attention to me? Give me attention!’ Seems like he really is a little kid.

 

“Yes yes, sorry, what is it Kuro?” He said using the same exasperated tone as a mother who had been putting up with nonstop chatter from her kids all day.

 

“I’m hungry.” You know, in some ways maybe this Kuro wasn’t so different from the normal Kuro.

 

“Right, sorry, dinner should be ready soon. I’ll go check on it. You just sit here and watch TV.” Placing the boy down quickly and rushing off to the kitchen and turning off the stove he began to prepare two plates of curry, one for each of them. While he did so, Mahiru decided he would call Misono right after dinner and if that didn’t work he would have to take Kuro back to Mikuni’s after all.

 

“MAHI!!!!” Was all the warning he got before a set of small arms latched around his waist, an equally tiny body shaking against his back.

 

“E-Eh?! Kuro! What’s wrong?!”

 

“You left me! You can’t leave me alone Mahi! It’s scary. And it’s dark! That’s when the monsters come out!” Monsters? Was he serious?

 

“YOU. ARE. A. VAMPIRE!!! How could you be scared of monsters?! Monsters aren’t even real Kuro!”

 

“Mahi! You’re yelling at me!” Oh, right, kids don’t handle being yelled at well. Sighing he placed their plates on the counter, turned around, and dropped to his knees before patting Kuro on the head. The poor kid had the beginnings of tears in his eyes for crying out loud. Was this just how a child Kuro would act and feel? Or was this something else?

 

“Ah, you’re right, I’m sorry Kuro. I didn’t mean to yell, you just startled me is all.” Ruffling the boys ice blue locks, Mahiru gave him a small smile as an apology of sorts.

 

Sniffling Kuro looked up at Mahiru and asked if he was mad at him, to which Mahiru told him that he was not. The sad child then demanded a hug, and told Mahiru that he wasn’t allowed to leave him alone ever again.

Mahiru agreed and then proposed they eat dinner, he received an eager nod in place of a verbal answer and the two grabbed their plates before shuffling off to the table. Mahiru actually had to stack a couple old phone books in the chair so that Kuro could reach the table, and while it was cute, it was also a hassle.

 

When Kuro said he wasn’t allowed to go anywhere without him, he meant it. The whole time he was searching for the out of date literature, he had to do so with the boy clutching the back of his jacket and shuffling awkwardly behind him. And when they finally found the books and had successfully eaten their dinner Mahiru noticed it was already 7pm, meaning if he was going to call Misono he had 2 hours to do it. Deciding the dishes could wait until tomorrow, he strode off to the living room to settle himself on the couch to contact his purple haired friend.

 

Grabbing his phone off the coffee table, he hastily scrolled through his contacts list and placed the call. It was picked up after just a few rings and Lily answered saying that Misono was in the bath currently and that Mahiru would have to wait unless it was important. “Well, uh, actually it might be. What do you know about-Ugh, Kuro stop it!-what do you know about Servamps turning into annoying little 8 year olds?” Mahiru said as he gave a pointed glare to the brat. Kuro’s only response was to stuck his tongue out as he continued to clamber into Mahiru’s lap and pull on his jacket demanding attention and affection.

 

Lily was thoroughly floored, so he asked for a full explanation, which Mahiru readily provided. Much to the chagrin of Kuro who only increased his efforts of getting Mahiru’s focus, he didn’t like that the teen was paying more attention to whoever he was on the phone with than he was to him. And he was more than happy to show this fact as he snatched Mahiru’s phone to give whoever it was a piece of his mind.

 

“Listen mister! Mahiru doesn’t have time to talk to you, cuz he’s supposed to be paying attention to me!” He poutingly screamed into the phone.

 

“K-Kuro! Give that back! I’ll give you attention soon, I promise, just give me back the phone!” Exclaimed Mahiru as he began to wrestle with the boy for the phone, and as sad as it was, he was losing that wrestling match. He may be a little boy now, but he’s still a vampire with super strength.

 

“NO! I want Mahi’s attention NOW!” Shouted back the fuming and jealous child, as he pushed one hand against Mahiru’s face while he used both his feet to shove against the 16 year olds chest.

 

“N-Nii-san?” Stuttered the Servamp of lust. He had no idea his brother could show so much emotion. It had never happened before, this must be serious.

 

“Kuro, please. Just give me the phone and you can sit in my lap while I pet you okay?” At this the boy seemed to perk right up. Eyes widening as the beginnings of a smile started working its way onto his face.

 

“You mean it?”

 

“Yes, I said that I promised right?”

 

“Okay!” Climbing back into the teens lap the boy happily sat there allowing the brunette to run his fingers through his ice blue hair.

 

“I’m so sorry about that Lily. I really didn’t expect him to do that. Then again he’s been acting really weird since this change happened.” Sighing he recalled when he took a quick break from looking for the books so he could pee, and the young boy tried to follow him in. After a 10 minute argument the child settled for sitting outside the door and as soon as the Eve exited he immediately latched onto him burying his face in his stomach and begging him not to leave him.

 

“What do you mean? I see that brother is displaying a lot more emotion than is usual for him, but has he been doing anything else strange?” This information would be useful to have if for if something like this ever happened again, but also, he was just curious.

 

“Ah, well, he doesn’t seem to remember the fact that he was 18 before this, he said that it’s dark out and there are monsters and it scared him and he’s been following me everywhere, he won’t let me do anything or go anywhere by myself. And he’s being really affectionate for some reason?” As if to demonstrate the highschoolers point, Kuro began chirping about how much he loved him and would only stop once Mahiru said it back.

 

“You see what I mean? And earlier, I yelled at him and he started crying! It normally takes a lot to make Kuro cry. I just don’t get it Lily. What is going on? I mean I know he’s a kid now, but I’ve babysat kids before and none of them were like this! He’s all clingy, and he’s a total crybaby.”

 

“Well, this is just a guess, but maybe this is how Kuro really feels?” How Kuro really feels?

 

“What do you mean? And please keep it simple.”

 

“Ah, I just mean that perhaps, because he is a child now he has less control of his emotions. Children have strong feelings, raw and hard to hold back. Brother never shows any emotions, true, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel them. He is just good at hiding them all behind an uncaring façade. Children can’t do that. They wear their hearts on their sleeves so to speak. So perhaps this is how Kuro always feels and he just doesn’t have the control to stop himself from showing it now? I think when we get him back to normal that you should have a serious talk with him.”

 

This is how Kuro really feels. He hates being alone that much? He gets scared whenever he isn’t by his side? He wants to cry whenever he thinks that Mahiru is mad at him? He...He loves him? Processing all this, Mahiru couldn’t stop the tears that rolled down his cheeks.

 

 

“Yeah, I will try. But Kuro’s not the best at talking. In fact, he tends to avoid it. Especially if its talking about himself. If this is him acting how he honestly feels it would probably be easier to just talk to him now. I mean, last time I got anything out of him was when I used Johannes drink to invade his mind. I..I really am useless as his partner huh? If i couldn’t even tell this was how he was feeling the whole time.” He barely managed to get everything out before the tears really started pouring out of his eyes. One of them falling onto Kuro’s face and running down his own cheek, causing him to stop his happy purring and tilt his head back to look up at the distraught teen.

 

“Mahi, why’re you crying? I don’t like it when you cry. Smile. See like this.” He said with a large frown before taking his two pointers fingers, one on each side of the Eves mouth and pushing Mahiru’s lips into a smile. “See? Like that. Much better!” He exclaimed while flashing a big smile of his own.

 

“K-Kuro?” *sniff sniff* “I’m so sorry! I should have realized sooner! I’m so so sorry! Why didn’t you ever tell me?!” Throwing his arms around the boy who immediately returned the embrace, albeit not without confusion as to why the teen had suddenly hugged him. Mahiru began apologizing and running a hand through the bluenette’s hair again.

 

“Mahiru, you are not useless to him. Brother loves you more than anything, you know that right? You’ve done more for him than anyone else and while he doesn’t show it, he is extremely grateful. And you already know about how insecure he really is. He is probably terrified of losing you. He probably never wants to go back to that loneliness that he knew before he met you. You mean so much to him, I’m sure he wants to express all this to you himself, but I believe he is too afraid to do so, that, or he feels he doesn’t deserve to tell you. That is most likely why he is showing all of it now, he trusts you and loves you, just try to remember that.”

 

“B-but that’s ridiculous! He should just tell me if that’s the case! He knows how much I love him too! I told him not to keep secrets from me, and this is exactly why! But thank you Lily, I needed that. Do you have any idea how to get him back to normal?”

 

“I believe your best bet is to take him to Mikuni’s and have Johannes take a look at him, I’m afraid Misono and I won’t be of much use to you. But if he is afraid of the dark, then you will just have to wait until morning to take him.”

 

“That’s what I thought. Thanks again Lily.” Sighing into the receiver on the phone Mahiru mumbled a quick goodbye before hanging up. “Mahi? Are you better now?” Realizing he had not yet release Kuro from his hug he instantly let go of the boy and apologized.

 

“A-ah, yeah. Sorry Kuro. I needed that. It looks like you will be staying like this for the night. I really wish I could just figure out how to turn you back into your 18 year old self now though.”

 

 

Shaking his head from side to side the boy smiled back at him, “I don’t really know what that means, but that’s okay! I like getting hugs from Mahi! I love any attention I get from Mahi as long as it’s not yelling or angry faces. I don’t like it when Mahi gets mad at me, it makes me feel really sad and worthless. But happy Mahi is really nice! I love Mahi’s smile because I love Mahi! I love Mahi this much!”

Getting off the teens lap and standing before him, he made a gesture of stretching his arms out to the sides as far as they would go, before shaking his head. "No, that’s not right, I love Mahi WAY more than that. Mahi is everything to me.”

 

Clenching his fists, Mahiru resolved to ask this child Kuro after all. He was so much more open about everything than the normal Kuro, and if him yelling at his Servamp really made the vampire that upset, he wanted to know so he could stop doing it. “Kuro. Is this..Is everything you’ve been saying and doing how you really feel? Be honest, and I want you to tell me everything.”

 

“Huh?” He tilted his head, eyebrow raised as he pulled a slightly confused, yet offended look. “Of course it is! Why would I pretend about all of this stuff? I love Mahi and I never want to be separated from my Mahi!” The speed with which he delivered his answer and the conviction in his voice were both startling, and touching.

 

Hanging his head and casting his gaze to the floor, the little one continued. “When I can’t see you, I get scared. Scared that I will lose you. Scared that the monsters will get me. You keep the bad things away. I’m also nervous when you don’t pay attention to me and give it others instead cuz I don’t want you to leave me for them. When you were on the phone earlier, you seemed really into that talk, and it made me think that I wasn’t good enough to keep you entertained if you would rather talk to someone else. I don’t want you to stop liking me and make me go byebye.”

 

“Kuro…” Mahiru took a deep breath, closed his eyes and thought about what to say. Did it really matter? Would Kuro even remember any of this when he went back to normal? How would his Kuro act if he did? Would what he said here change how they acted with each other? Ah, whatever, if it mattered to this Kuro then that’s reason enough for him. If it somehow affected their partnership, then he could worry about that later. But for now, he had to say something, he had to do something for little Kuro.

 

“You know I love you too, right Kuro? Cuz I do. A lot. A whole lot. I don’t like when your hurting and you don’t tell me cuz I love you and want to make you not hurt but I can’t help you if you never tell me when something bothers you. So how about a deal? You promise to tell me when something is making you unhappy and I will promise to try and stop yelling, and I will also promise that I will never stop liking you okay? What do you say Kuro?” For a minute Kuro was speechless, staring up at Mahiru with wide, sparkling scarlet eyes filled with awe and hope.

 

“You mean it? Like really mean it Mahi?” He said with desperation evident in not only his words but his voice as well. Chuckling Mahiru squatted down and stuck out a fist.

“Yeah!” Kuro immediately broke out into the biggest smile Mahiru had ever seen and bumped fists with Mahiru. “Then it’s a deal! But we have to make it official, you gotta pinky swear!” Something about hearing Kuro say something as ridiculously childlike as ‘Pinky Swearing’ made Mahiru give a hearty chuckle.

 

“Really Kuro? We just sealed the deal with the fist bump. But okay, if that’s what you want.” Reaching out his pinky finger and wrapping it around the boys much smaller one they shook on it. “I pinky promise not to break my word or else, sealed with a kiss! Now we gotta kiss Mahi!” The fact that he said this with such seriousness didn’t help the situation any.

 

“What?! You mean we gotta make our thumbs touch? Or kiss each others hand. Right?” And the fact that he got a negative shake of the head from the little rascal only made things 100 times more difficult. “Kuro, your like 8 years old, I don’t think it’s appropriate to kiss you. How about this, I will kiss your cheek now and when your older, I will kiss you for real, okay? Does that work for now?” He was really trying here. He was willing to do whatever he had to for his partner to help him, but kissing a child seemed wrong somehow, even if he knew that wasn’t really a child and was actually a vampire that was hundreds of years older than him.

 

Nodding his head up and down rapidly, the former oldest eagerly agreed to the proposition. “Okay! That’ll work. But only cuz it’s you Mahi and I know your good for it.” He said smiling contentedly up at the taller male, hands balled into fists and held in front of his in a show of excitement.

 

Giving the boy a warm smile of his own, Mahiru bent down to softly place a chaste kiss on the child’s left cheek, eyes sliding closed as he did so. After a couple second he quickly stood back up and peeked his eyes open to gauge the runts reaction, unsurprisingly the kid looked as if he couldn’t be happier. His grin was so large that his fangs were poking out from behind his lips. It was incredibly adorable and he knew that if, no, when he got the old Kuro back, that the vampire would never believe him without proof.

 

So he quickly pulled out his cellphone and snapped a picture of the cute scene and slide the device back into his pocket. Briefly, Mahiru wondered if Kuro would get mad at him for having the photo before shrugging it off as unimportant at the moment. He could always just order the man to let him keep the picture, or bribe him with ramen and chips.

 

A yawn suddenly pierced through the silent atmosphere of their living room, alerting Mahiru to how late it was and shaking him from his thoughts. It was only 8pm but for a young child, especially a young child who happens to be the Servamp of sloth, it was definitely late enough to go to bed.

 

“Are you sleepy Kuro? We have somewhere to go tomorrow so it’s probably a good idea to hit the hay and get some rest for it now.”

 

The boy simply shook his head while reaching up a fist to rub his eye in a manner to screamed sleepy. “Nah, that’s ok Mahi I’m not tired yet.” That had to be the biggest lie his partner had ever tried to tell him. He’s Kuro for pete’s sake, he’s always tired!

 

Placing his hands on hips in a motherly fashion “Nonsense, anyone who took one look at you could tell that your about to knock out. I mean, you can barely keep standing your so tired. Come on, there’s nothing to worry about. I’m not going to leave you while you sleep Kuro. So just go to bed now, alright?”

 

“NO! I want to be with Mahi! So if your staying up then I’m staying up too!” Stomping his foot to show he was upset and not going to listen to the others request.

 

“Then what if I go to bed too? Will you go to sleep then?” Once again the child nodded his consent and the two headed off to their bedroom. Upon arrival Mahiru changed into his pajamas while Kuro climbed into the teenagers bed. Turning around Mahiru blanked. “Uh, Kuro? What are you doing?”

 

“Going to bed with Mahi.”

 

Blinking the Eve pointed at the cat bed on the other side of the room. “Right, but your bed is over there.”

 

“And your bed is right here. And that means you will be right here. And I agreed to go to bed because you said you would go to bed too, so I could still be with you. That means I’m sleeping with you in your bed so I can be with you.”

 

“A-ah, but.. Wha?” He would still be with the little trouble maker even if they weren’t in the same bed they would still be in the same room. But he was just a kid right now anyway, so it wouldn’t hurt anything to let him share the bed with him. And he loved Kuro, so he wouldn’t mind sleeping with anyway, but Kuro was never this...assertive before.

 

“Ah, alright, fine. You can sleep with me.”

 

“And cuddle?”

 

“I-I guess that’s okay.”

 

It was a bit of a strange idea, cuddling with Kuro, but still fine, as he is just a child. He probably won’t recall any of the events that have transpired since he turned into a kid anyway.

 

Walking over to the bed and laying down next to the rugrat, the adolescent slowly wrapped his arms around the bluenette and pulled him against his chest. Hearing a contented sigh from the boy as he snuggled deeper into the teens hold, Mahiru relaxed himself and lifted one hand to the youths head. Slowly trailing it from the top of his head, to the base of his skull, and repeating the motion. This seemed to soothe the child as he heard a long, soft, yawn, while he felt the boy’s face burrow further into his chest.

 

“This is really nice Mahi. You’re so warm! And you smell nice.” Because little Kuro’s face was shoved into his chest, Mahiru couldn’t see the huge smile spreading across his countenance, lighting it up like a christmas tree. But that didn’t stop his face from becoming hotter than an oven from the child’s comment. He had to remember this wasn’t his normal Kuro he was dealing with. This was a child who would openly say anything without a filter because he didn’t see anything wrong with it.

 

“O-oh yeah? Good. I’m glad your comfortable Kuro. Now you should really get to sleep, you had a big day.” He felt the tyke give a slight, gentle nod against his chest in response.

 

“Night Mahi. I love you.”

 

“I love you too. Goodnight and sweet dreams Kuro.”

 

With that, Kuro was off to the land of dreams within record time. Having Mahiru holding him so securely was like having a safety blanket. It made him feel comfortable and protected. It kept all the nightmares away. Shortly after Kuro conked out, Mahiru found himself dozing off to join him. Both sleeping peacefully until morning hit and Mahiru’s alarm clock disturbed their slumber at around 8am.

 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Surprisingly, Kuro didn’t groan too much about the wake up call. He simply complained about how Mahiru’s alarm clock was loud and annoying and told Mahiru to make it stop. After that he proceeded to tell Mahiru about all the dreams he had, while Mahiru got up to get dressed and make them breakfast. Of course Kuro once again followed him everywhere like a duckling would its mother. And he complained when Mahiru called Mikuni to let him know that they would be coming by in a couple hours or so, because he wanted to be the center of Mahiru’s attention. But that couldn’t be helped until Kuro was his old, cranky and lazy self again.

 

After they had eaten and were dressed and ready, Mahiru was left to wonder how all this would go.

Would Johannes really have a way to turn Kuro back? Was Kuro still able to transform into his cat form? He hadn’t shifted forms all night, but that might have been a choice, not the inability to change. Would Kuro remember everything that had transpired the past night when he changed back? And more importantly, did he want Kuro to remember everything?

 

It would be awkward sure, but he knew that they would never move forward by avoiding the problem, they had to face it head on. They had to talk about Kuro’s behavior, it could easily just be that he really did just want love and attention as all children do, especially since he never had it and had always been alone. But it could just as easily be something more, and Mahiru had to know, no matter how uncomfortable the conversation made them.

 

“C’mon Kuro, it’s time to go!” Called the brunet as he slipped on his sneakers at the door. He heard small feet quickly padding towards him and looked over his shoulder to see Kuro quizzically tilting his head at him.

 

“Where are we going again Mahi?”

 

“To Mikuni’s place, now come on. Transform already so we can go. Or can you not do that anymore?” Questioned the teen as he opened the door, letting sunlight spill into the apartment a bit.

 

This only seemed to confuse the boy more, as he tilted his head to the other side before asking,

“What do you mean Mahiru? Ah!” A poof of smoke appeared and there sat a tiny black kitten in place of the blue haired youth that had been standing there not even a moment ago.

 

“Oh. That’s what you mean.” Mahiru couldn’t help but chuckle at that, raising a hand to try to cover his mouth and stifle the giggles. Only to fail to hide his laughter and get a pout from his partner.

 

“Sorry Kuro, I didn’t mean to laugh.”

 

“Then why did you? That wasn’t very nice of you Mahi.”

 

Giving the four legged creature a gentle smile, he bent forward to pick him up and hold him at face level before standing back up and answering him. “I really am sorry about that Kuro, you just looked so genuinely surprised, like you forgot you could do that, it was cute and kind of funny.”

 

Despite the mass of black fur coating his Servamp’s face, he could still faintly make out a pinkish-reddish hue spreading across the cat’s features. Not long after, a smile broke out on the vampire’s countenance as well, which was both endearing and freaky to the Eve. On the one hand it was nice to see Kuro smile, but on the other he hardly ever saw his partner smile and never had he seen him do so in cat form, it was a little weird.

“Anyway, let’s head on out now Kuro. I don’t want to keep Mikuni and Johannes waiting, who knows what they would do if we made them wait too long.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The walk to Mikuni’s shop was long and uneventful. It would have been much quicker to take a train, but Mahiru, unlike his lazy partner, enjoyed getting some exercise. Kuro had long since fallen asleep on Mahiru’s shoulder, pressed against his neck. So it did get a little boring with no one to talk to, but it did give him time to think.

 

He pondered more on what Johannes would have to do to fix Kuro. The teen didn’t want him to have to go through a bunch of poking and prodding like he had endured when they first came to Mikuni for help. But he also understood that he would need to be analyzed to determine what had occurred that caused the change in the first place.

 

Hopefully they wouldn’t be here forever, he would stay as long as they needed too, but he wanted to get this over with quickly so he could sort things out with the eldest true vampire. Steeling his nerves, the teenager stepped up to the familiar door of the strange little shop and opened it.

 

Calling out to Mikuni and waving at Jeje who stood behind the counter, the youth made his way in toward the revolving mirror, asking if Johannes was inside.

 

“Oh yes, he’s definitely in there. Been in there all morning since you called, he’s real excited about gettin’ to experiment on sloth.” Quipped the cowboy dressing blond.

 

“Be...careful...in there…”

 

“Hahaha! Wise words Jeje, do take care Mahiru. He’s not interested in you, but he may try to experiment a bit with you as well if he has the chance. And he most certainly will take the opportunity presented to him to try a bunch of tests out on your Servamp if you let him.”

 

Mahiru’s eyes flashed briefly in anger. Immediately, the teen reached up and grabbed the kitten on his shoulder and cradled him to his chest. “No way. We’re just here to change Kuro back. That’s all. He is NOT testing anything weird out on him unless he thinks it will help get him back to normal.”

 

Mikuni gave a half, smile half smirk, it was cute that the boy thought he could just tell the man no and that would be the end of it. “I understand. I just mean that he is a sneaky bastard, you gotta watch him real closely and make sure he doesn’t try anything, and I hope for sloth’s sake you have gotten better at spotting a lie. Otherwise, Johannes could easily say that what he is doing will help sloth, while in actuality who knows what could happen to him.”

 

Suddenly the brunet wasn’t feeling too good about going to Johannes for help. Mikuni was warning him sure, but he wouldn’t step in to help them, he wouldn’t watch the man and tell him not to try anything funny. It was just him and Kuro, and right now Kuro wasn’t in the right state to be dealing with him, so it all fell to the Eve. He really should have tried to get someone to come with them.

 

“I-I don’t know if I’ve gotten any better to be honest. I prefer to give people the benefit of the doubt and trust that they won’t do anything to me. But I have learned from Kuro that sometimes I have to be a bit more shrewd to protect myself and others. I won’t let him do anything bad to Kuro, he is my partner and he needs me to step up for him here. I will not fail him when he needs me most. I will save him and keep him safe.”

 

Despite the determination in the students voice, Mikuni was not convinced. He raised both his hands in a shrug and shook his head in a gesture of ‘whatever you say kid.’ But Jeje seemed pleased with his words, nodding his approval at the boy.

 

“Well, in any case, the longer you take talking out here, the more time he has in there to prepare god knows what. Goodluck kid.” Said the man with the doll, walking into the back of the store.

 

Swallowing his nerves, Mahiru stepped into the lab of the eccentric vampire researcher.

 

“Umm, hello? We’re here.” He called as he gently poked the kitten in his arms to rouse him from his slumber. He heard a slight mewl of protest before it was covered up by a crashing sound and footsteps racing toward them.

 

“Hellooooo~! Welcome, welcome, welcome to my laboratory! Give him here, I will begin my analysis at once.” Yelled the glasses wearing man as he reached out and tried to pry the furball from the teens arms. “You will not be needed, you can just go wait outside or something.” This sentence was punctuated with him making a shoo-ing motion with one hand as he continued to grab at the feline with the other.

 

“H-hey! Knock it off! I’m not going anywhere! I’m going to be right here incase Kuro needs me for anything. And I said stop trying to grab him like that, you’re gunna hurt him!”

 

“Oh he’ll be fine! He’s a vampire, he can’t die. He’ll be fine! I certainly won’t do anything to hurt him, if I destroyed his item then I would lose a test subject. So you have nothing to worry about. Now give him to me.”

 

The Eve shook his head. “I’m staying. I know you won’t destroy his bell, but that’s not what I was talking about. I know he doesn’t show it, and he is definitely not vocal about it, but he can still feel pain y’know!? And since he can’t protect himself right now, it’s my job as his partner to protect him.”

 

Johannes frowned deeply and narrowed his eyes at the sloth pair, but he relented.

 

“Fine. Stay. But don’t get in my way. You can sit over there on the same stool you did last time. Now hand him over already so I can start.”

 

The brunet’s eyes narrowed as well as he skeptically nodded at the man. “Kuro, you remember Johannes right? He is going to need to look you over now, alright? I’ll be right here with you the whole time, I promise I’m not going anywhere.”

 

The black mass in his arms yawned and nodded at him. After getting his vampire’s confirmation, he hesitantly handed the creature to the man in front of him who was now back to smiling in glee.

 

“Hooray! I can’t wait to check you out and test everything out on you! Hurry up, change back to you normal form, come on.”

 

“HEY! We are just here to get Kuro back to normal, we aren’t here for you to use him as a guinea pig!” Screamed the teen as he clenched his fists in anger and worry, rushing forward to take his lazy kitten back if need be.

 

“Well that’s no fun. You do realize that I am doing you a favor by fixing him right? And out of the kindness of my heart, the least you could do is let me experiment on him just a bit.”

 

This..This jerk! He was treating Kuro like he was a toy! This wasn’t a game. His partners health was at stake here. What if he did something that made Kuro stay a child permanently? Or gave him something that immobilized him or kept him from being able to use his powers to fight? Or what if he hurt him?

 

“I’m sorry. I know you are being nice by helping us. But I can’t let you do anything to Kuro! If you want, I can pay you for your help. Just please don’t do anything to him.”

 

Johannes turned a neutral gaze on the brunet, it seemed like he was studying him as he looked at him for a good while, Kuro squirming in his hands.

 

“No. I don’t want your money. You’re a high school student correct? You probably don’t have much money to begin with.”

 

He was right. Mahiru didn’t have a lot of money. He only brought a twenty with him incase he and Kuro wanted to get lunch after this to talk over. Swallowing down his nerves once more, he fixed Johannes with an unwavering gaze.

 

“Then, if my money won’t do, you can experiment on me! You like studying vampires right? Well what about their Eve’s? Lawless once said that we’re stronger than normal humans. So maybe you can run your test on me instead.”

 

Both Kuro and Johannes looked shocked beyond belief. Kuro recovered quicker and instantly turned on Johannes with murder on his features, although it’s threatening edge was dulled considerably by his tiny kitten form.

 

“If you do anything to Mahi I will bite you. Just cuz I’ve been quiet up till now doesn’t mean I haven’t been listening. I’m not scared cuz I have Mahi with me, but I won’t let you touch him.”

 

Mr. Faustus sighed and released the feline who quickly changed forms and ran over to Mahiru, standing in front of him and facing the man with his arms spread out wide to block the teen from his reach. Glaring at the horn haired with his childish face and big eyes, daring him to try anything.

 

Mahiru blinked at the child in front of him. It was incredibly touching that he was willing to try and fight to protect him even though he was in no condition to be doing so. The teenager took a deep breath, stepping forward to wrap his arms around the boy and pull him against himself, keeping a steady gaze trained on the scientist.

 

“I mean it, I will let you test a couple things on me if you want, as long as you don’t do anything to Kuro while you are helping him.”

 

“Alright, I get it. You both won’t let me touch the other. Your offer intrigues me, but I’m afraid I don’t have any current interest in you Eve’s, just your Servamps. Besides, I don’t have anything prepared that I could test on you. So we will have to take a raincheck, I will keep your offer in mind however and give you a call should I happen to develop a desire to test something on an Eve. Now hurry up and get on the table over there so we can get this over with sloth.”

 

The sloth pair smiled at each other at the mans words. Nodding and holding onto Mahiru’s hand, he walked over to the table in the middle of the room and climbed up on it, while the Eve smiled encouragingly and squeezed the tyke’s hand once before releasing it and making his way to his seat.

 

Johannes waltzed up to the vampire and began to examine every aspect that he could about the young looking male. Once he had written down all the information he could gather, he began to work on developing a potion to undo the damage he had secretly caused when he slipped the contents of one of his vials in the vampire’s drink during their last visit.

 

It didn’t take long, as he had already began preparations for it prior to the two’s arrival. Putting the solution into a needle he walked over to the lad and went to give him the injection that should fix him, only to be stopped by a squeak from the child and the brunet rushing over to grab his wrist.

 

“What are you doing?!”

 

“I’m fixing him. This concoction should turn him back into his normal self, I’m 98% sure of that.”

 

“W-what!?”

 

Laughing at the Eve’s reaction, the man shook his head to wave away his concern, assuring the adolescent that it had merely been a joke and that he was 100% certain it would work.

 

“Okay, but still, that’s not what I meant. I was asking why you were trying to give him a shot instead of just giving him a drink or something with it in it!”

 

“Why? It’s not going to hurt him. He’s a vampire. You are treating him like he’s-”

 

“A child?”

 

“A human child.”

 

Sighing, Mahiru released the man’s wrist and shook his own head. He then set about how it didn’t matter the race, any creature could hold fear in its heart. Especially young ones, and human children were typically averse to injections. Humans and vampires were not much different after all.

 

Johannes groaned and rolled his eyes at the teenager. He knew that he was technically to blame for causing the problem to begin with, not that anyone knew, he was sure that Mikuni and Jeje had their suspicions, but as far as he knew, nobody was certain. But this Eve was wearing his patience quite thin. Honestly, he would have had better luck at getting his way by trying this on any of the other Servamps, even Jeje.

 

“I just wanted to give him a small prick but you won’t even give me that small fun. He would heal instantly you know, and I wanted to watch and see if he healed faster than Miku-Miku’s Servamp. But fine, I will give him the elixir in a drink.”

 

Mahiru smiled apologetically at the man and thanked him, then turned and patted the ice blue haired boys head. The boy in turn smiled at his Eve and thanked him for is help. Once Johannes had put the brew into a drink and given it to the boy he explained that it would take an hour or two to take effect. He then suggested that the two head home and to let Kuro rest and let the potion do its job.

 

Mahiru bowed and thanked the man for his help multiple times, only to be brushed off with a “Sure, sure. Farewell.” and a shake of his hand. The sloth pair then left his lab and informed the envy pair of the current situation. Once done, they said their goodbyes and headed home.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“How are you feeling now Kuro? Any different?”

 

The two had been home for an hour and Kuro was laying on the couch, resting his head on Mahiru’s lap, as the Eve ran his fingers through the boys icy locks to help him relax.

 

“Sleepy Mahi. Really happy and relaxed. But no different. Am I supposed to feel different?”

 

That was a good question, perhaps they should have asked Johannes before they left. Oh well, too late to worry about that now.

 

“Umm, I’m actually not sure. But if you’re tired, maybe you should just take a nap? It could be the potion, but it could also just be you and your nature.”

 

Kuro hummed in acknowledgement, rolling onto his side to bury his face in the adolescent’s stomach. He seemed entirely content to just lay there on his lap, and while Kuro always seemed alright with the idea of just laying around doing nothing, right now he looked so happy. He had small smile on his face as his eyes closed and he nuzzled into the teenager further.

 

“I love you Mahi.”

 

“...I. I love you too Kuro. No matter what happens, I love you. Remember that. Even if it turns out that you stay like this forever, or if you really do turn back, I promise I will still love you.”

 

“...Really? You really promise?”

 

“Yes, I really promise. Now go to sleep, you can barely keep your eyes open. We can talk more later.” He said as he pet the child a few more times to help soothe him into slumber. The boy gave a sluggish nod in return.

 

“Ok. Love you Mahi, see you when I wake up?”

 

The brunet smiled warmly at the boy as he spoke. “I’m not going anywhere, I will be right here when you wake up.” The younger male smiled wider back at the highschooler, finally allowing himself to close his eyes for good and drift off into sleep.

 

Mahiru continued to run his hand over the kids head as his own eyes slid shut. He didn’t mean to fall asleep himself, but with Kuro’s warmth and soft breathing lulling him into a serene state, he couldn’t help but join him in dreamland.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Mahiru came to, it was to a voice he was very familiar with, but hadn’t heard in an entire day, even though it felt like way longer than that.

 

“Mahiru, what are you doing?”

 

“Kuro! You’re back!”

 

“I wasn’t aware that I left. I’m home?”

 

Oh he had missed that sarcastic bastard.

 

“Hahaha, so funny. But I’m serious! You don’t remember anything that happened the past day or so?”

 

He looked down at Kuro who was still resting his head on the teens lap, and saw him frown in what he assumed was concentration. Immediately after Kuro sat upright and moved away from the youth toward the other end of the sofa, before answering.

 

“Nope, not a thing. Oh well, what can you do? What’s for lunch?”

 

Blinking owlishly at the vampires semi-strange response, he told him that he was planning for them to go to out to lunch at a cafe so they could eat and discuss everything that happened. Kuro quickly shot this idea down.

 

“Why not? Kuro, we have to talk about this! If you would rather I cook something instead, then I will. I just thought that you might rather have me close to you and not have to leave you alone.”

 

The immortal being flinched at his partner’s words and turned away from him completely. Lucky for Mahiru, he caught that reaction from his partner and quickly pressed on the new lead.

 

“Kuro, are you okay? Did I say something that bothered you?”

 

“..No, why would you say that? Go cook us lunch housewife, I would actually enjoy having sometime to myself, despite what you seem to think.”

 

Mahiru smiled at the vampires obvious lie, instantly jumping on it to make him admit whatever it was he was trying to hide.

 

“Kuro. You know that we both know eachother too well to be able to lie and get away with it. I saw you flinch when I said that you didn’t want me to leave you alone. Why would you flinch at that? Unless… It’s true?”

 

The vampire sat silently for a bit, seemingly contemplating his options of continuing to lie or fess up and see where that takes them. Eventually the bluenette decided and turned to his master.

 

“Yeah, ok… So I don’t like being left alone, but I’m not a child Mahiru. I can handle being on my own for an hour two while you cook. We both need time apart once in a while right? It’s not healthy to be so dependent on another’s company to the point that you can’t be by yourself.”

 

His voice was smooth and didn’t waver, and his eyes held their normal lazy haze. Everything he said seemed to hold true, but for some reason, the youth still felt he was being lied to. Deciding to press further, he shook his head and answered the once again, older male.

 

“That’s fine Kuro. You’re right. Everyone needs some alone time, but one of the thing that happened over the past day or two, was you being super clingy. You were acting so un-Kuro like, saying weird things, following me everywhere and refusing to let me out of your sight. That was when you told me that you didn’t want me to ever leave your side because you don’t like being alone.”

 

The red eyed male flinched once more, cursing himself for not being able to lie to this boy and control his reactions to the teens words. He sighed and shook his head, looking away from the younger male again.

 

“That’s not what I meant. I mean, maybe it was, but I don’t know what you’re talking about. I love your cooking, so I don’t want you to not cook, plus I know it’s something you like doing that makes you happy, I can’t ask you to give that up.”

 

“I’m glad you like my cooking, since you’ll be eating it for the rest of my life, cause I’m not leaving you Kuro. Ever. And I’m sorry if this talk is making you uncomfortable but we have to have it. You are letting on that you know a lot more than you are pretending to know Kuro. So just spill it, all of it, you know everything that’s happened, don’t you?”

 

The room was silent for a long time, Kuro refusing to meet Mahiru’s gaze and Mahiru staring holes through Kuro as he tried to be patient and wait for an answer. Finally, Kuro cracked and glanced over at the determined Eve, which would prove to be his undoing. He couldn’t continue to lie to his light, not when he was looking at him like that. He broke.

 

“...Yeah.”

 

Alright, progress! “So you already know all about your behavior and the things you said, right?”

 

He received a small, slow and sad nod in response. This pained the caramel eyed youth. He didn’t want to upset Kuro, he really didn’t. But he had to know why his partner had been acting the way he was. Was it just a side effect of being a child? Or was it something more?

Just because adult Kuro knew what he had been saying as a child, doesn’t mean that child Kuro had known and understood what he was saying. Which means I have to ask, I’m sorry Kuro. You seem really uncomfortable with this line of conversation, but I have to know or else I will go mad!

 

“Alright then, next question. Did you know what you were saying when you were a child?”

 

“..For the most part. I knew what I was saying, but it was like I didn’t have control of myself. It was like my mind was regressing to fit the child’s body. But of course, I was still a vampire, so I still knew things that most children wouldn’t and shouldn’t know. I ended up saying a lot of stupid or childish things, I’m sorry Mahiru.”

 

From what the teen could gather from that answer, yes Kuro was aware of the things he was saying, he didn’t seem to have been in control and was saying things against his will, but he knew what he was saying and what those things meant.

 

“Okay. And is that the same with your actions? Were you following me around and being super clingy against your will? Or did you do that by choice? Children can be like that sometimes, so I just want to know if that was really you or not. I won’t be mad at your answer, unless that answer is another obvious lie.”

 

“So I just have to make sure the lie I tell isn’t obvious and you won’t be mad?”

 

“KURO!”

 

And just like that, as happy as Mahiru was to have that sarcasm back, he was already tired of it again.

 

“Alright, alright. You’re such a pain. Yes it was the same with my body and actions. I knew what I was doing, but I didn’t have full control of it. It was sort of like sharing a body with someone, sometimes I was conscious and had control and other times I was just along for the ride.”

 

The Eve of sloth nodded a few times, processing the information. Once he was satisfied that he understood everything said to him, he smiled at the older male and moved on.

 

“Gotcha. Okay, last question. And this one’s an easy one. I won’t ask you which things you said and did were you and which ones weren’t. Not for every single little thing, if I did we would be here all day, so instead I’m just going to ask you this. Are you in love with me?”

 

This question not only cause the red eyed male to flinch, but to practically curl in on himself, as if he feared he would be attacked and had to defend himself. Or perhaps, to keep something from getting out. The Eve couldn’t say for sure which was correct, but he knew the posture was defensive regardless of the reason.

“I don’t want to talk anymore Mahiru. That question makes me uncomfortable, and I don’t like it. Please, just, stop there. Alright?”

As the vampire spoke, he gave Mahiru the second most pitiful look the student had ever seen on his partners face. And he didn’t like seeing it at all. Sliding up to his housemate’s side, the teen gently placed a hand on the immortal’s shoulder, turning him to face him, before throwing his arms around the older male and rubbing soothing circles in his back.

“Kuro, you don’t have to answer my last question, not if it’s going to upset you this much. I just want to know because you kept saying you did, like a lot, when you were a child. I just wanted to verify whether it was really you or if it was just the child you.”

He heard and felt the tense male take a deep, anchoring breath, as his body shifted until he could worm his arms around Mahiru in return, albeit hesitantly.

“Is that all? If so, then I can answer that. Just, no more after, please?”

The Eve nodded his head against the Servamp’s shoulder, muttering out an “Of course, and thank you Kuro.” before a sigh escaped the blue haired one.

“It-it might have been both. I can’t say for sure if it was the child me or not, but I know that I do love you. I’m sure the child version of me would have loved you too, you’re a really likeable guy when you’re not being pushy and annoying.”

Mahiru decided to let that last comment slide. Both because everything the other had said up until that had been really nice, and also because he knew how out his comfort zone this talk was for his partner, so he was lucky to be getting anything from him at all.

The apartment once again went silent, tension thick and very much present, as the brunet debated where to go from here. He knew that he should probably just leave it alone. His poor Servamp looked like he was going to shatter at any minute already, and he had asked him twice, practically begging him not to push the matter any further.

But on the other hand, he wanted, no, need, to know. Mahiru had to know what way he loved him, platonically, romantically, like a sibling perhaps? But if Kuro was too scared to be the one on the spot, then as his Eve it was his job to take care of him and do it for him, they were a team after all. And if I have to be the one to stick my neck out to make some progress here, well, I don’t care, as long as we can get past this. He thought.

“I’m glad to know it wasn’t just the child you that cares about me so much, I don’t know what I would do if you didn’t like me, maybe go back to Johannes and ask him to make you a kid again? Then I wouldn’t have to get teased all the time by such a grumpy guy.” He jested back.

“All joking aside though Kuro, I really am happy. It’s too bad that you don’t want to talk any more though. Otherwise I would have asked you which way it was that you liked me. Because the kid you kept making me think that you had a crush on me or something.” The teen laughed at the end of his statement, trying to lighten the mood, before noticing his partner scowl and begin to push against his chest to get away.

“Yeah, as weird as it was, it was actually kind of nice.”

Immediately, the struggling halted. “R-really?”

“Yeah, it actually made me really happy. I wish that was the case, because I think I have a crush on you, and it would have been nice if you felt the same. But it can’t be helped. Sorry for putting you through all this Kuro, you’re a good partner.”

He released the eldest Servamp from his hold as soon as he finished his speech. Giving the undying being a chance to flee if he wanted too. But just as he thought he would, the bluenette seemed to have fallen for his lure, and stayed right where he was instead of going off to hide under the bed.

“You have feelings for me Mahiru?”

Kuro was obviously trying his hardest to keep his expression one of his typical neutral, bored, and lazy mix. But Mahiru knew him too well, he could see the hope shinning like a beacon in his eyes at the prospect of his affections for the boy being returned. This made Mahiru chuckle, it was really cute, and it was the first time he had ever seen Kuro so hopeful for something. Not even video games elicited this sort of response from him.

“Yeah, yeah I really do Kuro. It took me a while to realize it, but now that I have, it was actually pretty obvious. I mean, sometimes when we were just relaxing together and I thought it was really nice and I wanted it to last forever, I thought it was just because I didn’t want to go back to being alone. I should have known that wasn’t the case though, I mean, it was only ever you that I felt that way around. Thinking about it now, I really feel like an idiot for not figuring this out sooner.”

The teen turned his head away in embarrassment for his naivety toward what he had been feeling toward the other male this entire time, only for him to hear a small, yet deep, chuckle come from his partner’s mouth. He wasn’t sure what exactly was funny about what he had said. He was just speaking the truth, sharing his feelings and findings, and he was about ready to call the Servamp out on his rudeness.

“You are an idiot Mahiru. Just...Not for that reason. People, ah, process this stuff in different ways and take differing amounts of time to do it. What matters is that you’re sure of what you find. So, are you sure that you’re not misinterpreting how you feel toward me? Cuz if you are, that would make things really troublesome. Ah, but I guess this is troublesome either way.”

Now it was the Eve’s turn to laugh. It was great to hear Kuro speaking like his old self again. It meant that he was feeling at least a little more comfortable with their topic of conversation and the situation in general. And he seemed to be taking Mahiru’s confession in stride as well. Just a couple more presses and the whole thing should be completely smoothed out, like a freshly ironed shirt.

“Of course I’m sure! How could I not be sure when I love being around you, no matter what we’re doing? Or the fact that I think you’re adorable, but still hot at the same time? A-ah, wait, pretend I didn’t say that last part. Um, but I really do care about you, you know? You’re one of the most important people, if not the most important person, in my life. We balance each other out. Like Yin and Yang. I need you Kuro, and you need me. So thinking simply, if we need one another, and we work well together, and we really, really like each other, then why shouldn’t we be together? That is, if you meant it in that way when you said you loved me anyway. Did you mean it that way Kuro?”

The bluenette, who had just recovered his normal stoic face, was once again thrown into a tizzy of emotions. Cheeks stained with a slight dust of red, his eyes wide, mouth agape, but in his eyes was happiness and hope. Once he saw Mahiru staring he quickly schooled his expression once more, and answered.

“Ah man, you think I’m hot huh? You have weird tastes Mahiru. But I guess I should have known that already.”

“H-hey! I said to forget I said that Kuro! It’s embarrassing! I’m already sticking my neck out here, do you really have to tease me for it?” Exclaimed the brunet as his hands flew up to cover his blushing cheeks. This made the Servamp smile, it was cute after all, how could he not.

“You’re right, and that’s not fair. Guess I should step up as your partner and stand by your side in this battle, instead of being a lazy fraidy-cat who hides behind you and lets you take on the foe alone. I know you care about me, and I care about you a lot too. I know its cliché, but I really don’t think I can live without you. I’m too attached, and I can’t do anything by myself. You’re right Mahiru, I need you, and to answer your question…”

The vampire hesitated for a moment, looking to Mahiru for the encouragement he needed to go on. He got this in the form of a bright and understanding smile, so he took a deep breath, and carried on.

“I did. When I said I loved you, I meant it in every sense of the word…And I still do. We’ve crossed so many bridges, leapt so many hurdles, you have stuck with me instead of dumping me back on the street. You helped me face all the problems that I had been running away from for so so so many years. How could I not fall in love with you?”

“Kuro. Thank you, that’s enough, I understand. You don’t have to force yourself to go on. I know it scares you.” Said the teen, as he gently reached out to his taller companion to comfort him. Suddenly, the immortal erupted in a small fit of laughter.

“There you go again Mahiru, putting everyone else before yourself. You are kind, so incredibly kind and caring. Too kind for your own good sometimes, in fact. But I love that about you. It’s both annoying and adorable. Just like you, annoyingly adorable. Ah, spilling my guts is too troublesome, but..”

Looking into Mahiru’s wide shocked eyes, a soft look spread over Kuro’s face. A smile blooming across his lips as he gingerly pried his Eve’s hands off of his face so that he could place his own hands there.

“Not telling you and seeing you unhappy is even more troublesome. And, I suppose you’re worth the trouble.”

With that said, Kuro quickly leaned in, placing a tender, yet hesitant, kiss on the boys lips. It wasn’t long, not even 5 seconds, but it was enough to convey what he couldn’t with words. After the two separated, Mahiru threw himself into the larger male’s chest, knocking them both to the ground.

“Thank goodness, I’m so glad Kuro! For a minute there, I was worried that I had just ruined everything between us.”

Sunny smile taking its rightful place on the adolescent’s face, he burrowed further into the other’s arms. While said other male, soothingly ran a hand down his hair and back.

“Nah, if anyone is going to be the end of us by ruining our relationship; it’s a lot more likely to be me than you.”

This comment earned him a quick flick to the forehead and a sharp glare. 

“Hey, no, bad Kuro. Don’t say things like that about yourself. You’re a great guy and we will make this work together, I mean, you do want this, right Kuro?”

The boy looked up from his partner’s chest, instantly uncertain about his actions. Kuro kissed him, but he never said he wanted to be in a relationship with him. Some people were afraid of commitment, and Kuro definitely seemed like the type. He didn’t even want to be his Servamp when they first met and formed their contract, he just knew that there was no way out of it and he had to accept it.

Surprisingly, Kuro seemed to make up his mind with little inner debate, as if the question took little to no consideration. He nodded and leaned down to seal their lips once more.

“More than anything.”

THE END

Bonus:

“You know, you really need to stop meddling in other people’s lives.”

“That’s rich coming from you, I’m sure your little brother would be screaming at you about that hypocrisy coming out of your mouth if he were here right now Miku-Miku.”

“Yeah, whatever. Just try to keep the crazy experiment’s down to once a month alright? If people keep coming here to get you to fix whatever strange thing it is you’ve done to them, people will start to associate that with my shop. And that will really ruin my business, which will in turn, ruin things for you and your experiments.”

“Understood Miku-Miku, you’re the boss.”

Mikuni, glared at the innocent smile on the other man’s face, but decided it wasn’t worth the trouble to fight him on this any further. The blond sighed and shook his head, before turning and exiting the room.

Part of him knew that the scientist wouldn’t keep his word, and later when yet another experiment went “wrong”, he wouldn’t be surprised. But for now, it just wasn’t worth the hassle, he’d rather save that headache for a later date.

Said scientist currently smiled and waved at the other as he left, while his other hand remained unseen, behind his back, with his fingers crossed. As soon as the revolving door was shut, he turned around and picked up a vial with one hand, and reached into a drawer with the other.

Pulling out a large, rolled up spreadsheet, he smoothed it out and crossed off the faces of the sloth pair and looked it over.

“Now then, whose next?”

THE REAL END

**Author's Note:**

> So as you probably guessed. After Mahiru and Kuro finished up their talk, Mahiru called Mikuni to tell him to thank Johannes for him since the treatmen worked. He also let's it slip to Mikuni that he and Kuro are dating now, which Mikuni also passes along to the scientist. I hope you all liked it, if not, please tell me what I can do to improve myself. Thanks for reading!


End file.
